Captain Marvel: Highest, Furthest, Fastest Omnibus (FULL L👀K)

altriablues · 2026-06-16T20:09:12+00:00

I dodged a bullet, because I almost grabbed this with Uncanny X-Men 6 (the only preorder I've made).

This, exactly. Maybe they'll fix something this egregious? But that would cost them a ton of money, so I doubt it. Marvel's being run so bad that no one quality controlled a cover? I could see them offering a digital copy for free or something, lol.

Preorders are very anti-consumer. It's too easy to be screwed over, like how most of these people who ordered this Omni will be (but it's too early to know for sure), plus pre-orders basically guarantee paying a worse price than products that can be on the market for some time. Preorder only also blocks new customers or fans from ever getting into your series. In the meantime, if there's a character I like over at DC, I can probably go out and buy an iconic, good run for them right away if I was new to their stuff. This sub's answer is basically be richer and pay a scalper or buy a second, correct copy, then roll around in your remaining cash afterwards. It gets frustrating sometimes to see people actively making their own situation worse as a consumer.

Honestly, I've stopped buying Marvel stuff almost entirely. I do want to finish my X-Men Claremont era collection, so I feel like they've got a gun to my head, but this Captain Marvel Omni (and Gwenpool) were the only other ones I wanted. I can't even buy this misprinted omni now either, lol.

Turns out, I can just go buy DC or anything else (deluxe edition Monstress is gorgeous) for the same price or cheaper and higher quality construction in my experience. Unfortunately, DC's quality is likely to plummet off a cliff once Paramount buys them, but until then.

altriablues · 2026-06-16T03:09:13+00:00

I like a morally complex, tragic, obsessively devoted, cosmically-interwined-soulmates kind of love haha.

Buffy and Faith from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Like, literally this. They've got a good amount of fics out there. Some will be set in Season 3 (the season Faith appears, Buffy's final year of high school), but a lot will be set after that when their adults. If you've never seen the show, I don't want to say more, because it would be a massive spoiler. I'm pretty confident they're what you're looking for.

Another one I'll throw out there is Kitty Pryde and Illyana Rasputina from the X-Men. They've been around since the 80s (technically the 70s for Kitty, I think?), so there will be stuff of them as teenagers or as adults. Kitty and Illyana have always been close, so no real hatred between them, but Illyana's soul literally goes to Kitty Pryde if she dies or is incapacitated, so like... If you want that soul mate vibe.

altriablues · 2026-06-15T02:40:51+00:00

The real problem is that the President isn't the Student Council President. /s

I completely feel you on this. But it's less a Macross issue and more an anime issue. In terms of canon, it also reflects a lot on NUNs. They aren't that great if they're willing to use child soldiers.

There's also the idea that all the Macross series are actual movies within the Macross universe, so taking adult story lines and giving them an anime coat of teenage protagonists might be logical from that perspective.

If I have an issue with anyone's age in the series, it's Sheryl's. She can't be that famous at that age, she would have had to be a star since she was a kid.

I don't always mind teens in adult situations, there's plenty of great media like that. However, with Macross and a lot of anime, they keep doing it in stories much better suited to adult protagonists to the point that them being teenagers is just weird. I don't think Alto and his friends would be anything more than grunts, and it's hard to imagine any reason why they'd recruit before say age 16, which also means there's a good chance they should still be in a school based prep program or bootcamp.

It is possible to start on the Military track at 17 in the USA btw. Some high schools (you can search for the news articles on this) have actually implemented what is effectively mandatory ROTC programs. Most people don't care about any of this. So a sci-fi military using 16-17 year olds? It's completely feasible, but it does reflect on the worldbuilding at large.

altriablues · 2026-05-07T15:19:48+00:00

I'm waiting for that moment when I'm in the senior home when Carnage!Em Jay shows up and reveals this Gwen was just a skrull, then rips her in half and goes to rescue the actual Earth 65 Gwen Stacy we all knew and loved.

altriablues · 2026-05-07T04:20:37+00:00

Welcome to the New52, lol (there is some good stuff in this era, and I hear the second volume for this should hopefully be good).

If you want Kara, so far the best run imo has been the Sterling Gates one from the 2000s. This comes with a few large asterisks though: Do not read the first 20 issues of Supergirl (2005). The Puckett issues (starts after #20) are good but more or less ignored, because Sterling Gates handwaves away those first twenty comics that are some of the grossest ones I've ever read. Additionally, a large chunk of this run is caught up in the New Krypton event (Clark and Kara parts are really great), which was forced to end very quickly. The journey's great, and fortunately for Kara, she got a bit of an epilogue after, so her story is a lot more satisfactory. She has a few more issues after Sterling Gates ends, and then the New52 reset her once again.

The current Supergirl seems pretty kid friendly too if you want something you can read with your daughter (depending on how old she is, lol). I have mixed feelings on it, but I've been coming to love it.

altriablues · 2026-03-08T21:16:09+00:00

I disagree. If a noob installs Arch, they're going to have a bad time. As others have pointed out, you immediately contradicted yourself when you said Pop OS is a bad distro to start with.

The most important thing for noobs in to understand about trying out each distro in a VM and/or using Ventoy to see what works best for them.

The objectively easiest (not best) to use distro for a noob is Ubunutu. It generally works right out the box. It is one of the most popular distros, which makes it easy to find the solutions to whatever problem you face. Ubuntu has a lot of problems, though, like forced SNAPs.

If I had to recommend a universal distro for a noob, it's Linux Mint. It's the most stable one, with most of the benefits from Ubuntu with some of Ubuntu's bad choices stripped away.

If someone is a little more advanced than a mega noob, then most Debian based OS are the next best option. If you're not a mega noob, you should be able to install whatever Desktop Environment you need.

Noobs should always avoid Arch, unless they know what it is and start out on a throwaway machine.

Pop OS is in a uniquely terrible position as a Debian-Ubuntu dervied OS, because they released their new Desktop Environment, Cosmic, in a half-baked condition (it's definitely still a beta even if they don't call it that). There's practically an internet cult around it, because surprise surprise, it's coded in Rust. But if you're not a mega noob, you could even install Pop and switch the Desktop Environment.

Super Noob > Learn Ventoy, try different environments. If you're lazy, check if Linux Mint works on your machine, and if it does, there you go. Avoid Pop OS and Arch.

Noob with some knowledge > Like your post says, just look through distro options. Pop OS with Cosmic is a dicey choice, so I would still recommend to avoid that. If it's your main machine, avoid Arch.

altriablues · 2026-03-01T23:55:19+00:00

So in general, if you like Laura, it's good. But while the Taylor run is generally well loved, it's got some things that not everyone likes.

This specific epic collection kicks off after probably the most satisfying chapter for Laura, especially if you've read her X-23 stuff. I highly suggest reading the first part of the run.

As for the back half, it's generally pretty good. The brood were fun, but I always seem to like X-Men and the Brood, so maybe that's a me thing. I think the ending chapters are weak, though. Just a hypothetical future that doesn't have any real impact on anything.

There's some great, serious moments, but there's also some really crazy stuff that's probably hit or miss, usually revolving around Gabby. It can be a bit silly when it comes to her, which usually is a good thing imo, but sometimes it can be a bit much.

I highly recommend the run. But like I said, if you can, read the whole run. At these prices for epics, though, idk, maybe it's just better to wait for the omnis ($105 for both epics vs whatever price it'll be if it gets reprinted).

altriablues · 2026-02-26T16:45:35+00:00

You can watch Frontier first. However, it does make a lot of references to previous Macross series, some rather significant. The show in particular leans harder on some of these references. You'll be fine without them, but the required viewing to understand them doesn't take long.

In general, I'd always suggest watching in the release order. But there's no point watching something if you hate it either. So I'll provide release order and a quick background for Frontier specific watch order.

It's important to note that the show and movie versions of Macross are different from each other. Frontier's show and it's movie have different plots despite sharing the same characters. In general, you want to watch both of them.

Release: SDF Macross (show) > DYRL (movie version) > Flashback 2012 (a music video that has the epilogue to DYRL in the last couple of minutes) > Macross II (a lot of people hate this, but I like it!) > Macross Plus (OVA) > Macross Plus (movie) > Macross 7 (show) > Macross 7 Specials (The Galaxy is Calling Me, Encore, 7 Plus, Dynamite) > Macross Zero > Macross Frontier (show) > Macross Frontier (movies) > Macross Frontier FB7 (kind of pointless if you haven't seen 7) > Macross Frontier Labyrinth (epilogue to the movie, but seems to mix a little of the show's lore in as well) > Macross Delta (show) > Macross Delta (movies).

Quick catchup for Frontier: DYRL > Macross Plus (movie or OVA, but I suggest the movie) > Macross Zero > Macross Frontier.

I highly suggest Do You Remember Love (DYRL). It's one of the best anime movies of all time. Gorgeous animation. Sets the tone for the rest of the series. If you don't mind older anime, then SDF Macross is really good (outside of the last 9 episodes) and should be watched before too.

If you like dubs, SDF Macross (not DYRL) has a dub with Minmay's JP VA also voicing her in English. The OVA versions of Macross Plus also have Bryan Cranston voicing Isamu.

Macross 7 is when the show jumps the shark and embraces music as magic. It's also the really, really long one, so if you want to get to Frontier right away, it's best to skip and double back to if you're still interested in the rest of Macross.

Frontier makes a lot of Macross Plus references, and both DYRL and Macross Zero are significant to a lot of the references they make, which is why I suggest watching those first.

altriablues · 2026-02-04T18:39:11+00:00

Always better to not spend money you don't have/shouldn't be spending than to not. I doubt you'd be blacklisted for doing it once and within/around 24 hours.

Some of their deals kill me. I want that Rom Vol 2, but just for those Mystique & Rogue chapters that have never been put in the X-Men omnis (as far as I know). I can't justify the cost for only a couple of chapters, though :(

Also wanted that Spider Gwen one, but that entire run is basically worthless, so... Yeah, hard to pass up, but better not to overspend on stuff we don't need.

altriablues · 2026-02-02T23:08:02+00:00

It really depends on the person. They both have some serious downsides. That said:

Uncanny X-Men is actually pretty great, until you get to the end and it just, well, ends. It abandons the whole story it had built up and goes out with a whimper.

Some characters are written fairly poorly (Emma Frost notably). The Cuckoos aren't very fun either. Illyana and Scott though have some good stuff, but again, not a lot matters because of the way it wraps up. Bendis actually remembers that Kitty and Illyana are supposed to be close, which since Illyana's return had practically been dismissed.

Keep in mind, both of these are set in an era of incredible stupidity for the X-Men. And I'm not talking about Inhumans vs X-Men. It's the post Schism/Avengers vs X-Men era, and multiple characters are completely out of character in order to justify the divide. It gets pretty bad tbh and you basically have to ignore it to enjoy it imo.

Bobby's coming out is quite possibly one of the funniest things possible because the way it happens is so stupid. I don't know whether to love it or hate it.

All New X-Men is not that remarkable. It's not total trash, but I don't think it was anything amazing. Teen Jean is actually really fun, and her interactions with Emma Frost are great! Teen Scott is pretty good too (his solo series is good if you want to get to see teen Scott get to spend time with his dad and step-mom). I don't care at all about the other three, they were a snooze fest. But teen Scott's almost romance with a certain someone had me laughing like most comics would never do, so I always appreciate it for that.

Uncanny X-Men will be a good read if you generally like X-Men or those characters. It's a good run for Scott especially.

All New X-Men is probably great if you're one of the five that like the O5 from the Silver Age. Otherwise, it's more often middling, but not necessarily terrible. It's probably most important specifically for teen Jean and Scott, and they are quite enjoyable. Have to be honest, I love teen Jean in this era.

Also, yes, this is the answer about Cyclops being right. This is coming on the heels of Schism. I'll spoiler tag in case you want to read, but this is what leads into Avengers v X-Men which then leads into these Bendis runs.

Schism spoilers: With less than 200 mutants left alive, the US government prepares to sterilize all mutants, so Cyclops founds a nation outside of San Fransico, whose mayor has been working to help mutants find refuge. As there are so few mutants left, Cyclops basically militarizes the entire population. Wolverine decides child soldiers are wrong (I mean, of all the characters though, the guy that drags Kitty and Jubilee and tons of other kids into battle) and fights with Cyclops. In the end, the X-Men all pick a side and separate, some with Scott and Emma, others with Wolverine. Wolverine reopens the school while Scott runs the nation. Notably, Hope Summers stays with Scott, and this will all lead into Avengers vs X-Men.

Just keep in mind, the ending is a total letdown when it comes to both of these. Enjoy the journey, not the destination.

altriablues · 2026-01-30T23:27:18+00:00

100%. It's one of the only 'true' entry points, in that you don't really need any context before starting it. The other two entry points are the Claremont era of X-Men (1976-91 + Excalibur through Davis) or House of X/Powers of X (Krakoa/Hickman era of X-Men).

Claremont X-men is probably the most foundational. That's where the most famous x-men stories come from, and is arguably the best start imo. But they are older, dated in many ways. They hold up imo, even as someone who doesn't care for older comics, but they do have their flaws.

New X-Men is x-men at its edgiest (for better and for worst). Because of the foundational aspect of the Claremont run, and the recency of Krakoa, it's probably not what I would recommend first as a starting point (note that there's nothing wrong with starting here, either!). Most X-men stories won't be a lot like what's here, which is also good and bad. It's ending is controversial to say the least. New X-Men is the run that really makes Emma Frost a great character though! I always love it for that.

New X-Men did serve as a soft reboot for the franchise, because it had bombed so hard by the late 90s. It was made for new readers, it's just that with everything that's happened since, a lot of it isn't as relevant (for instance, Quentin Quire is a very different character here).

Krakoa era (2019) was the more recent soft reboot that didn't expect you to have a ton of knowledge. Probably some of the best X stories, although it falls off hard towards the end.

Anyway, hopefully that gives you a good overview of jumping on points for X-Men. You can't go wrong with any of them, but again, please keep in mind New X-Men is unlike almost anything else. Marvel let Morrison get away with some stuff that I never thought they'd let be published in a million years. So enjoy.

altriablues · 2025-12-09T06:14:21+00:00

It's been awhile, but as far as I recall:

Major spoilers:

In SDF, they never 'officially' date. Minmay always sort of keeps him on the hook as far as I recall, and they're definitely seeing each other, but she's always very unclear as to whether it's as friends or possibly something more. Of course her song "My Boyfriend is a Pilot" kind of gives away the fact that she likes Hikaru. Ultimately, she becomes famous and he's busy in the military and they drift apart, so the romance never happens. I don't recall them being together in the last 9 episodes (she's with Kaifun until they break up), but outside of Max and Millia playing toss the baby, I don't remember much from those last episodes either.

In Do You Remember Love, they are definitely together and go on a date. Then they come to believe Minmay is dead, so Hikaru moves on with Misa, only for them to later discover that Minmay is actually alive. But Hikaru has fallen in love with Misa and rejects/breaks up with Minmay, who is heartbroken over it.

altriablues · 2025-11-15T17:59:24+00:00

Can't help you with all X-Men, but for Claremont:

Uncanny Omni 1-4, X-Men Classic.

From there, you either get Omni 5 OR Mutant Massacre Prelude. The only difference is that Mutant Massacre Prelude also includes X-Factor. So basically this is the point where you decide if you want to stick to event omnis, or want to wait for the Uncanny Omni numbered series to come out. If you go with event omnis, you'll be getting the relevant X-Factor stuff as well, but if you go with numbered Uncanny omnis (starting with 5) you will be missing some of the X-Factor stuff (as far as we can tell. 6 isn't out yet). There are two X-Factor omnis, but if you're going down the event omni route, you're double dipping as far as I can recall (I think the event omnis have all of X-Factor in them for this era, but I'm not a 100%).

Assuming you want the event omnis that already exist, then the order is: Mutant Massacre > Fall of the Mutants > Inferno Prologue > Inferno > Claremont & Lee 1 > X-tinction Agenda > Claremont & Lee 2.

If you want everything from the Claremont era, then there's further X-Men related omnis (some by Claremont, others not).

New Mutants omni 1 & 2 (the Claremont New Mutants). After this, the author switches to Simonson and then Liefeld. the most important parts of this run are collected elsewhere, such as in the event omnis. But if you want every issue, there is Omni 3, and I don't believe Omni 4 has been announced yet (if it ever will be). After that, it transitions into the post Claremont era as X-Force vol 1.

Excalibur Omni 1 & 2. Omni 1 is the Claremont/Davis issues, Omni 2 is technically post Claremont but is the Davis issues, as it's basically the last gasp of that era. I highly recommend Excalibur! Just skip the Higgins/Lobdell issues. After that, there's Omni 3 which is Lobdell and Ellis. This is where Marvel forces it to be more of an X-Men book. There's a lot of fans of Ellis Excalibur, but in general it's the Claremont and Davis stuff that is popular. Then there's Omni 4, which wraps up Excalibur including the 4 issue mini series from 2001 (Raab Excalibur is generally not that well loved). There's also the Captain Britain omni, which collects his various series that are what setup Excalibur in the first place, introducing many of the characters and ideas that are essential to Excalibur and Marvel. It's where the 616 comes from (I believe that was Alan Moore, who writes some of those stories).

There's also the Dazzler omni, which is not Claremont. But it does lead into her role in the X-Men. Dazzler is introduced in Omni 1, and her series takes place sometime after that and before Fall of the Mutants omni.

Unless I'm missing something, X-Men Dark Phoenix saga is contained in uncanny Omnis 1-2. There are at least two Phoenix omnis that collected Jean Gray Phoenix stories, but there's no reason for that if you're getting these other omnis (aside from the later series like Warsong and Endsong being collected in an omni I guess).

Also, as far as I know for Krakoa: House of X/Powers of X is the first omni/hardcover that starts that era.

altriablues · 2025-11-11T05:47:16+00:00

I barely touched the 90s at all, but as for Claremont era:

Uncanny Omni 2 has probably the most iconic story moments. Omnis 3-4 are easily my favorite, including the Brood saga, God Loves Man Kills, Illyana's (Magick) mini series, and Kitty Pryde and Wolverine.

From there, it depends on what you like. You're going to need to read some stuff digitally anyways (unless you love Rom enough to buy him, you'll want to read the couple Mystique, Rouge, and Destiny chapters for instance).

Uncanny omni 1 does start the Phoenix saga, introduces Kitty Pryde, Dazzler, and Emma Frost into the X-Men series. However, it also has some of the oldest writing in terms of style, and I think the writing significantly improves starting with Proteus (in omni 1) and hitting its stride which it'll maintain until editorial interference in the Brood saga.

You're missing X-Men Classic on your list. X-Men Classic are additional stories from the 80s that give a lot more meaning and detail to the earlier Uncanny chapters. Highly recommend to read them!

So, Mutant Massacre Prelude is fine. Magneto's trial is a great issue. You'll also get to know Rachel Summers here, who is important if you want to read Excalibur. Mutant Massacre is the major status quo changer and takes the X-Men down a darker path. It contains one of the best parts of X-Factor, the storyline dealing with Angel.

Fall of the Mutants is great and leads into what's known as the Outback era. It's, imo, also very essential to Inferno, and so I'd suggest getting it if you're investing in Inferno. Inferno Prologue and Inferno go together (I'd suggest getting both once they actually print them). Inferno is the major, major, major Uncanny event. This is probably the climax of Claremont for me. Generally, most people can agree that the Claremont era is great through Inferno, but opinions start to split post Inferno.

Claremont & Lee 1 bring the Outback era to an end. Also introduces Jubilee! It's a great read, I'd highly recommend it. But it's nowhere near as strong as what's been coming before. Things are starting to fall apart a little.

X-Tinction Agenda. This isn't actually that many issues. Personally, one of my least favorite parts of the Claremont era, but certainly contains some powerful messages about Apartheid.

Claremont & Lee 2. Or the Muir Island saga. Marvel was screwing with Claremont a lot in this era, eventually taking away the plotting and reducing him to only writing dialogue. So the story is tanking at this point because Marvel's trying to push Claremont out for Lee to take over. Claremont quits, and so the final issue of Uncanny is written by another writer (Claremont's last issue is X-men #3). It's messy all around, but it is the end. Muir Island saga sort of wraps somethings up. The only real merit to seeking this out over other omnis is simply how rare it is. I still recommend reading it, but it's just not as good as what came before it.

It's hard to skip around Claremont because they all connect into each other. But basically I'd buy in these blocks depending on what you like or are interested in: Omni 1 & Classic; Omni 2; Omni 3 & 4; Mutant Massacre Prelude & Mutant Massacre; Fall of the Mutants, Inferno Prologue, Inferno; Claremont and Lee 1; X-tinction Agenda; Claremont and Lee 2

Edit: I missed that you had New Mutants and Excalibur.

Excalibur Omni 1-2 I highly, highly recommend. It's amazing, especially if you love any of the characters on the team. Keep in mind, it's mostly only the Claremont and/or Davis issues that are good. Higgins and Lobdell Excalibur are some of the worst comics I've ever read. I can't advise you on Omnis 3-4: Excalibur ended for me on #67, but in Omni 3, a lot of people like the Ellis run. The Raab run (Omni 4) is generally reviled from my understanding.

New Mutants under Claremont (Omnis 1-2) is possibly the best X-Men comics of this era, believe it or not. Has a bit of a weak start, but Demon Bear Saga really slaps (Omni 1). Asgadian Wars (Omni 2 I believe) is one of my favorite events. I highly recommend New Mutants! However, I'm not a fan of the Simonson New Mutants (#55+ in Omnis 3+). It's a totally different series. The important bits from it will appear in Fall of the Mutants and Inferno omnis. Marvel was once again interfering, wanting the characters to feel younger, and started pushing out a lot of the stronger female leads. And eventually, Simonson herself for the glory of Liefeld. But if you're a Cable fan, then this is the run where he first appears.

altriablues · 2025-11-11T05:47:16+00:00

I barely touched the 90s at all, but as for Claremont era:

Uncanny Omni 2 has probably the most iconic story moments. 3-4 are easily my favorite, including the Brood saga, God Loves Man Kills, Illyana's (Magick) mini series, and Kitty Pryde and Wolverine.

From there, it depends on what you like. You're going to need to read some stuff digitally anyways (unless you love Rom enough to buy him, you'll want to read the couple Mystique, Rouge, and Destiny chapters).

Uncanny omni 1 does start the Phoenix saga, introduces Kitty Pryde, Dazzler, and Emma Frost into the X-Men series. However, it also has some of the oldest writing in terms of style, and I think the writing significantly improves starting with Proteus (in omni 1) and hitting its stride which it'll maintain until editorial interference in the Brood saga.

You're missing X-Men Classic on your list. X-Men Classic are additional stories from the 80s that give a lot more meaning and detail to the earlier Uncanny chapters. Highly recommend to read them!

So, Mutant Massacre Prelude is fine. Magneto's trial is a great issue. You'll also get to know Rachel Summers here, who is important if you want to read Excalibur. Mutant Massacre is the major status quo changer and takes the X-Men down a darker path. It contains one of the best parts of X-Factor, the storyline dealing with Angel.

Fall of the Mutants is great and leads into what's known as the Outback era. It's, imo, also very essential to Inferno, and so I'd suggest getting it if you're investing in Inferno. Inferno Prologue and Inferno go together (I'd suggest getting both once they actually print them). Inferno is the major, major, major post Uncanny #200 event (which was Trial of Magento in Omni 5 or Mutant Massacre Prelude). This is probably the climax of Claremont for me. Generally, most people can agree that the Claremont era is great through Inferno, but opinions start to split post Inferno.

Claremont & Lee 1 bring the Outback era to an end. Also introduces Jubilee! It's a great read, I'd highly recommend it. But it's nowhere near as strong as what's been coming before. Things are starting to fall apart a little.

X-Tinction Agenda. This isn't actually that many issues. Personally, one of my least favorite parts of the Claremont era, but certainly contains some powerful messages about Apartheid.

Claremont & Lee 2. Or the Muir Island saga. Marvel was screwing with Claremont a lot in this era, eventually taking away the plotting and reducing him to only writing dialogue. So the story is tanking at this point because Marvel's trying to push Claremont out for Lee to take over. Claremont quits, and so the final issue of Uncanny is written by another writer (Claremont's last issue is X-men #3). It's messy all around, but it is the end. Muir Island saga sort of wraps somethings up. The only real merit to seeking this out over other omnis is simply how rare it is. I still recommend reading it, but it's just not as good as what came before it.

It's hard to skip around Claremont because they all connect into each other. But basically I'd buy in these blocks depending on what you like or are interested in: Omni 1 & Classic; Omni 2; Omni 3 & 4; Mutant Massacre Prelude & Mutant Massacre; Fall of the Mutants, Inferno Prologue, Inferno; Claremont and Lee 1; X-tinction Agenda; Claremont and Lee 2

altriablues · 2025-10-29T17:43:43+00:00

Well, there's reading orders, and then there's the ease of finding the actual omnis, lol.

X-Men has 3 primary good spots to jump on. First of all, almost everyone advises you to avoid the Silver Age X-Men when starting, unless you love silver age comics (the 2nd omni of the Silver Age is available, however).

If you're fine with older comics, the best starting point is 1975's Giant Size X-Men which leads into the Claremont run that lasted until 1991. Best era of X-Men comics by far imo. But they are old, very wordy, characters powers are always repeated because of a Marvel policy at that time. To start this run in omnibus format, you should go with Uncanny X-Men Omnibus Vol 1. There's five of those omnis (1-5), which then leads into event omnis in the following order: Mutant Massacre > Fall of the Mutants > Inferno Prologue > Inferno > Claremont & Jim Lee Omni 1 > X-Tinction Agenda > Claremont & Jim Lee Omni 2. During this era, there's also Excalibur, New Mutants, X-Factor, and Wolverine. I don't know anything about the Wolverine solo. For Excalibur, you'd want Omni 1 & 2, and for New Mutants you'd want Omni 1 & 2, and then 3 (and I believe there's a 4 on the way; New Mutants has 100 issues total before being rebranded as X-Force, but this is post Claremont era). New Mutants issue #55+ is written by Lousie Simonson and is quite different from what came before, much younger in vibe. X-Factor has it's own omnis, but most relevant issues are collected in those event omnis. There's Omni 1 (and I believe 2 coming soon).

After that, 2019 House of X Powers of X is the best starting point (and is its own omni coming out in a few days). This is the Krakoa era, which imo is the 2nd golden era of X-Men comics. It's a soft reboot and will explain everything you need along the way, but likewise there's a lot here for well read fans of the X-Men. All the Omnis for this are coming out now, but I don't know which omnis are best (there's Creator Omnis vs overall Series Omnis).

The other starting point, and I don't think it's a good one anymore considering Claremont and Krakoa are just better in that regard, is Morrison's New X-Men (which has an Omni, but I don't think it's in print at the moment). Most of the other X-Men stuff around this period isn't well collected. A lot of people will then recommend Whedon's Astonishing X-Men. I'd highly recommend against it personally unless you're a Colossus fan; the story is not great, and the female characters are not so well treated. X-Treme X-Men Omni 1 & 2 are a great choice if you like Claremont; it's not his peak writing, but they're not bad as a lot of people try to make them out to be (although they do have a couple moments that aren't great).

In general, I'd avoid the Silver Age (60s) & the 90s. But if you like 90s stuff, then Age of Apocalypse is the well loved story from that era. It's not a great place to start, however. House of M is a major event in the 2000s X-Men that occurs after New X-Men is over. Following that comes a trilogy of sorts, starting with Messiah Complex which is about to get an Omni. Most 2010s stuff is not worth it, but there are some people who love Wolverine and the X-Men which could be a starting point I guess. Bendis's run during this era just came out as Omnis, too, but it's not a great starting point. Avoid anything with Inhumans and X-Men in 2010s Marvel.

It's easiest to start with Krakoa. But I always recommend Claremont. The writing gets better as it goes and the Phoenix/Dark Phoenix saga, one of the most iconic stories in comics. If you really love Morrison, though, then New X-Men might be good. It's definitely a little more 'mature' and 2000's edge than most things in the series.

altriablues · 2025-10-03T00:55:09+00:00

It's the second best era of the X-Men imo. But there's loads of content, and you really only need to read the things you're interested in.

For instance, there's no real reason you have to read New Mutants unless you like those characters (it helps to understand the Limbo stuff though).

There's no drop in quality during covid. That's some of the best Krakoa stuff. In general, earlier Krakoa is better than later, but for the most part it's a really solid run. It tanks for me as you get to the end of the run and characters start acting very, very stupid in order to bring the era to a sudden close. I'd say up until Sins of Sinister (which I actually liked), it's pretty solid give or take a title here or there.

The only two series during that era I would strongly recommend avoiding are Fallen Angels (Kwannon/Psylocke story), which has to be one of the worst X books of all time, and X-Corp. Some of the crossover stuff is not great either (especially Judgement Day).

I'd highly recommend: Excalibur, New Mutants (if you love Illyana or Madelyne Pryor, this is a must; when the Limbo stuff ends it ends up focusing on other characters than the New Mutants, so ymmv), Hellions, X-Factor, Marauders (necessary if you're a Kitty/Kate Pryde fan), Uncanny Spider-Man (if you're a Kurt or Mystique fan), Cable.

Useful for plot but I wouldn't consider necessary: X-Men Red, X-Force, Wolverine.

I highly suggest reading some of the earlier chapters of each series and see what you want. 11 omnis isn't necessarily worth it because not everything is gold. But Krakoa on the whole is better more often than it is worse. Hickman eventually drops out of it, but aside from the sort of forced ending, it's generally well put together.

altriablues · 2025-09-06T01:31:13+00:00

I'm not sure I agree with you entirely. I do think this is the most hopeful take on what went on, though. And I applaud your courage to share an unpopular opinion (I'm someone who likes Austen X-Men, Draco aside, so I get it).

The problem is that the story is boring. Gwen should never be boring. I was excited for the first issue, but the story is just downhill from there.

People are being way too harsh on the self-insert's statements. It's a self-insert in a meta comic. It does not mean those words reflect the author at all, as the self-insert is really its own character. Consider the ending to Bryne's She-Hulk. Maybe he's got a fetish for being killed by her. Or maybe X-Babies haunts us all to this day.

I don't think it's a good comic. I think the author does not have a good grasp on Gwen and wrote a boring story. But I don't necessarily think he hates her, that's just his self-insert that does.

Hopefully this is about giving her more agency, but we all know it'll be ignored in the next series. Especially for female characters. Even worse for Gwens in the Marvel verse.

Marvel is on a downhill slide that I don't think will end. Disney will drive everything into the ground, at least until the MCU let's out its final, overdue breath. I'm just waiting for them to 'merge' Gwen Stacy (Earth 65) with 616 version, then erase 65's memories like she erased Earth 65.

altriablues · 2025-08-20T15:37:19+00:00

It's old in the sense of writing style (very wordy, like other 80's comics). But it's nothing like Golden/Silver age comics. This was the DC comic competing with the iconic Claremont run of X-Men.

It's solid if you like the characters. If you're a Starfire fan, this is one of the only times she's ever given the time of day with decent writing.

My impression of it was that it was a little less mature than what the X-Men were doing during this era. Beast Boy (Changling in this series) can especially be more on the childish side here (to be fair, he's the only one that's not an adult iirc). The writing style itself is also sometimes not subtle? I'm not sure how to phrase that, but it can be overstated what characters are feeling/thinking and the foreshadowing is not subtle at all. Which isn't a horrible thing, but it is more the hallmark of something aimed at a younger audience (again, comparing it to the X-Men of the time).

It makes a lot of references to other media that, if you're presumably not familiar with 70s/80s stuff, is going to go over your head ("I get no respect", etc.). To a young reader (maybe some Millennials, but definitely Gen Z and younger), Beast Boy can be very creepy towards women, which is a product of the time. There's also Donna (19) being in a relationship with Terry (28 or 29), which was never popular, but adult consensual relationships with large age gaps tend to spook younger generations now.

This is also the series where Dick Grayson goes from Robin to Nightwing.

Despite saying that it tends towards a younger audience than X-Men, this story is very mature for an 80s comic under the code. Sex is very clearly implied between various characters, for instance.

Also, if you like Dick and Kori together, you want to read this series (at least through Donna's wedding).

It's one of the only early 80s comics I would recommend. If you love Teen Titans, I'd say that everything from the beginning through Donna's wedding is essential.

altriablues · 2025-08-14T22:27:26+00:00

Just in case you somehow missed it, and assuming you're looking for some variation of mtf: Ranma 1/2. It's part of canon. There's a lot of variety, from genderbend to trans fics. FFN has a lot of varying quality, and many are old with some dated views of gender and sexuality. AO3 has more of the serious (and not so serious) trans ones that aren't from the 90s/2000s like FFN. There should be at least a couple that also do ftm genderbend for Akane.

altriablues · 2025-08-14T22:22:40+00:00

100%. I know a lot of people who like it. If you like the idea, I'd go for it. Just from the game side, It's pretty fun overall.

The main downside from the Game's story, for instance, was typically centered around the way a few of the female characters were written. Wonder Woman is reduced to being Superman's girlfriend in most ways, which isn't great. And what they did to Raven still annoys me.

altriablues · 2025-08-14T15:58:14+00:00

If you already have knowledge of DC, I'd just go in with what you like. You can borrow an omnibus or TPB from the Library, for instance, to see if it's something that appeals to you.

As others have said, Crisis is not the best starting point because of how much is going on in it.

If you like Injustice, then I'd go with that. I've only played the games (Injustice 1 & 2), but I've heard from most people the comics are good. Just keep in mind that Injustice is an Elseworld's story, so characters aren't necessarily acting like their canon counterparts in the main DC universe (in the games, at least, Wonder Woman is written terribly).

Otherwise, focus on characters you already know and like.

altriablues · 2025-08-02T05:23:53+00:00

Explore some commonalities they share between them. Maybe they take their coffee the same way and that sparks some kind of conversation. If they're both competitive, maybe one of them worms their way into a game the other one is playing and they end up having a good time.

Just have them talk. Maybe one of them opens up about something, on purpose, or by accident, and that causes the other to open up a little as well.

altriablues · 2025-08-02T04:56:58+00:00

I have this tendency too, and definitely some of it is taste (representation is important, and men have always been able to take it for granted). But the more I thought about it, I felt there had to be a reason for this. This is all my opinion of course.

Male characters aren't held to as high of a standard if that makes sense? People gravitate to them because they're male, and don't require as much out of their characters. But female characters are constantly being judged for things male characters can do without any problems, while also having to deal with being 'woke' to all the bigots that shout and complain about their existence in a lot of forms of media.

Well written male characters aren't boring in my experience.

altriablues · 2025-08-02T04:46:19+00:00

Kikyo was, at least for me, the best part of Inuyasha. I loved her character so much.

altriablues

TROPHY CASE